"Walgreens will make home in north Moscow; Motel to come down, drug chain to go up"

More "smart growth" in Moscow. Despite Queen Nancy's objections to chain retail in the corridor ruining our "small town charm," wasting our water, not providing "living wage" jobs, and destroying local businesses that are sustainable and don't "siphon money out of the community," a third major national retailer has located in Moscow on her watch. This time it's Walgreens. Where are the petitions? Where are the angry pony-tailed mobs? The environmentally friendly torches? The non-aggressive pitchforks? Where is the concern for poor locally-owned Hodgin's Drug? Remember B.J., when one store goes in to Moscow, another goes out.

From today's Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

Moscow is a blip on another corporate radar screen.

Walgreens, the nation's largest drug store chain, is coming to Moscow.

The business will locate at 414 N. Main St. The site was the home of an America's Best Value Inn, formerly the Mark IV Motor Inn.

"We have 24 stores in Idaho now. A year ago we had 20 stores there and two years ago only 17," said Carol Hively, Walgreens corporate spokeswoman. "Our expansion in Idaho has been steady and we're looking for locations in areas where we see increasing demand for prescription drugs, either due to a growing or older population."

The motel closed March 1 and the contents were sold. Demolition will begin soon with the appropriate safety precautions taken during the process.

The new Walgreens will have 14,800 square feet of space and parking for 45 vehicles, including three handicap spaces.

Construction is slated to start after the building permits are issued by the city in a few weeks.

The business is tentatively scheduled to open in the summer of 2009, but "that's just an approximation, so the opening could move up to spring or even back to fall, depending on a number of factors, including weather," Hively said.

Walgreens is a full-line drug store with more than 25,000 items.

The store will feature one-hour and digital photo services and a drive-thru pharmacy window.

Patients will have several options to refill medications including touch-tone service. Touch-tone allows a patient to enter a prescription number and request a time for a refill without having to speak directly to pharmacy staff. Patients may also arrange for automated refills and receive e-mail reminders of refill status.

The cosmetics department will have full-time beauty advisors to help customers.

The Illinois-based Walgreens had $53.8 billion in sales during fiscal year 2007. The company operates more than 6,200 stores throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. On average, a Walgreens store will have $8.9 million in annual sales.

The Moscow store will employ about 25 people